Coping With Loss
by ShaduofTexitar
Summary: Sequel to Separation. Yugi has lost the one person who has meant to the most to him. The one who brought purpose to his life. He feels like it's over. But every cloud has a silver lining, and this one is no exception. COMPLETED!
1. What he left behind

Coping With Loss

Author's note: Hey, here's the sequel to Separation. It picks up right where Separation left off. So if you don't know what's going on, read Separation.

Disclaimer: I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh!

"Yugi, Yugi wake up," Joey pleaded as he shook his friend.

Marik had shown up and then there was a flash from the Millennium Puzzle and Yugi went limp. That had been at least five minutes ago. Yugi was starting to sweat and run a slight fever.

"Guys, maybe we should get Yugi home," Tristan suggested.

"Righto," Joey agreed, hoisting Yugi onto his back to take him home.

They started out towards the Turtle Game Shop. But while they were walking, a figure followed them. She was concerned about Yugi.

"Dadgum, the door's locked," exclaimed Tristan.

"Have no fear, I know for a fact Yugi keeps a house key in his pocket," Joey stated.

Tristan heistated for a moment before diving his hand into Yugi's pants pocket. He pulled his hand out, producing a silver key.

"Wow, got it on my first try," Tristan grinned.

He stuck the key in the keyhole and turned. After he pulled the key out, he gave the door a small shove and the door swung open to an empty, and dark, house.

"Gramps, you here?" Joey called into the darkness.

No reply.

"Well at least get some light in here," Tea groaned, groping for a light switch.

She finally found one and turned the lights on. There was no one home. However, there was a note on the table.

It read:

**Dear Yugi,**

**I know that you are probably at your friend's house, and that's okay. Just remember when you get home to sort the new shippment of cards like you promised, do your homework, including practicing your trumpet, and take a shower. I got an urgent call that couldn't wait. I should be home in a couple of days. **

**See you when I get home,**

_**Grampa**_

"Just great," Joey groaned. "There's no one to take care of him now. We can't stay here. I've got things to do at home.

Tristan and Tea nodded in agreement.

"He can't come to my house," Joey grumbled. "My dad'll be home shortly."

"My parents aren't home and I still have homework and I have to clean up the party mess," Tristan stated.

"I have to babysit," Tea grumbled. "The job starts at eight and goes until the day after next."

"So, who's going to take care of him?" Joey wondered.

"I will," a voice from behind them offered.

Interesting, yes? Well, please review.


	2. Enter Jamie

Shadu: I'd just like to take a moment and say, here's your chapter Jamie. Oh, and if you haven't met my muses, I'd like to introduce them to you. Meet my muses, Ish and Hokage.

Ish: HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIPEOPLES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Shadu: O.o; Ish is my hyper side. She's my funny and hyper muse.

Hokage:...........

Shadu: Aren't you going to say anything Hokage?

Hokage: .......................Nope...................

Shadu: If you couldn't tell, Hokage is my calm, shy, and deep muse. He's the one that helps me with most of my writing. They were getting mad at me because we read all these other stories where the muses get to interact and say something, and I have to make them happy, so....You get the idea. Anway, Ish is a little wolf pup and Hokage is a dragon, not exactly a small dragon, but small enough to fit on my shoulders.

Hokage:......................The shoulders are my place.....................

Shadu: We know Hokage, and no one's going to take them away.

Disclaimer: We don't own nothin', not even Jamie.

Everyone spun around to see a teenage girl that was about Yugi's size and had blonde hair accompianded by blue eyes. She wore a Domino School uniform and was looking at the gang, obviously expecting an answer.

"Duh," Joey answered stupidly.

"Who are you?" Tea asked.

"Jamie," the girl replied.

"What'd ya think guys?" Tristan asked, looking at his other two companions.

"Duh," Joey replied again.

"What would Yugi do?" Tea asked Tristan.

He thought about this for a moment and then told Tea, "Trust her."

"Then, that's what we'll do," Tea smiled and turned to Jamie. "Hi, my name's Tea."

"I'm Tristan," Tristan added in.

"Duh," Joey said stupidly again.

"And that's Joey," Tea sighed. "It's too late in the night for him to be thinking."

"Hey!" Joey shouted. "That's not nice!"

"Nice to meet you all," Jamie smiled.

After showing Jamie where Yugi slept, and where she could stay, Tristan, Joey, and Tea said good-bye and went their separate ways, leaving Jamie with Yugi. She walked into Yugi's room, and watched him sleeping there. She knew he was sick, she had heard his friends talking on the way over. She walked over to Yugi and sat down in the desk chair that she had pulled over to the side of his bed. Gently, she placed a hand on Yugi's warm forehead.

A FEVER HUH? she thought, I CAN TAKE CARE OF THAT EASILY ENOUGH.

Jamie closed her eyes and focused the magic within her to her hand. After a couple of moments, Yugi's fever passed, and Jamie removed her hand with a satisfied smile.

"There you go," she whispered softly while playing with a bit of Yugi's hair, pushing it out off his forehead and having it bounce playfully back.

Yugi let out a small groan. His head hurt, his body hurt. But his heart hurt the most. He rolled over on to his left side. Someone else was here with him; who, he didn't know, but he didn't fear them. His senses told him that they meant no harm. Something, though, something wouldn't let him sleep. It urged him to wake up. To wake up and see who was with him. It told him that even though it may seem like they're friendly, it could be Marik. Yugi willed his small body to rise up, and indeed it did. With another small groan, Yugi sat up, holding his aching head. He opened his eyes.

To his great astonishment, he was back in his room. The rain seemed to have stopped, but it was still dark out, and was likely to start raining again at any moment. His desk lamp had been turned on, but nothing else. Yugi felt that the presence that he had sensed was behind him, like a shadow, he had no idea who it was, and was a little uncertain if he wanted to see. But curiousity finally got the best of him and he turned around. He found himself looking into the face of someone he didn't know. This startled him and he jumped back in surprise. She didn't look dangerous...

"Yugi, are you feeling okay?" she asked him.

"Ye-yea-yeah," Yugi stammered. "Wh-wh-who are yo-yo-you?"

"Jamie, and I promise I don't mean you any harm," she told him.

"Oh, okay," Yugi spoke softly, looking at the sheets.

Jamie looked at him. Even in the dim lighting, she could see that the same eyes that once held happiness, joy and determination, now held sorrow, sadness, and defeat.

"Yugi, is something bothering you?" Jamie asked.

"No," Yugi mumbled softly.

He was lying, Jamie could tell, but she decied that she would question him no further and went to the ktichen. Maybe a hot drink or something to eat would make him feel better, she thought. She was just starting to look around when she heard a snarl, a loud, vicous snarl coming from the darkest side of the room.

Shadu: Aww, cliffies, aren't they great? Hey, Jamie, did I get my facts straight on you item? Whelp, there's the second chapter. Oh, and don't forget to review.


	3. Enter Magic

Shadu: Hey, when I first posted the second chapter, I had a slight typo. Jamine was supposed to be Jamie, and she caught it. Thanks!

Ish: is bouncing off the walls, literally

Hokage: .................................

Shadu: I'll do honors I guess. We don't own Yu-Gi-Oh!

Ish: Boing, boing, boing, (ect.)

Shadu & Hokage: O.O;

There was a low, loud, and vicous snarl coming from the darkest side of the room. Jamie froze. What was that? She didn't dare move, whatever it happened to be was libale to attack without warning at any sudden movements. And it could have rabies.

If things couldn't had gotten any worse, the power went out, leaving her, and the snarling creature in almost complete darkness.

As the snarling continued, the shadowy figure it was attached to started to emerge from the darkness. It looked like a wolf. What kind, Jamie wasn't sure. But what puzzled her the most is why Yugi would be keeping a wolf, especially in the house. And if it wasn't his, where did it come from? There were no wolf packs anywhere near Domino. It's eyes glowed the color of red, and it's white teeth glinted off something, even in the darkness of the night, making Jamie aware of it's sharp teeth. It's body was slender and it's tail was ragged. It was crouched low to the ground, ready to strike at a moment's notice. It snarled, and let out a low, meneching bark.

"Whoa, easy fella, I don't mean any harm," Jamie held up her hands, backing away.

The wolf advanced slowly. As quickly as she could back up, still moving slowly, he'd advance towards her.

"What do you want?" Jamie asked the wolf.

"Why are you here?" it growled.

Jamie jumped. It could talk. She had never met a wolf, until now, that could do that.

"I should ask you the same thing," Jamie retorted.

"Why are you here? How do you know about Yugi? Who are you?" the wolf fired off a million questions.

"Uh, I'm here to take care of Yugi; he's sick. I go to school with him and my name's Jamie," Jamie answered the questions in order.

The snarling lessened and lessened until the wolf had calmed down. Slowly, he snuck back into the shadows. Jamie scurried back upstairs. Softly, she entered Yugi's now dark room.

"Yugi, since when did you have a wolf?" Jamie asked him.

Yugi looked at her in bewilderment.

"Excuse me?" Yugi asked.

"A wolf, since when did you get one?" Jamie repeated.

"Never, I don't even own a hamster," Yugi told her.

"Well, there's one down there now," Jamie told him.

Yugi was silent as he thought. A wolf? Impossible. There hasn't been wolves in the Domino area in almost one hundred years. But wait, what was that shadow that Yami had called upon. He closed his eyes and thought back.

I was so tired. I couldn't stand up anymore. It must be the Shadow Realm, I must be reaching the end of my enduracne. Yami rushed over to me and propped me up. I think he was about to say something, but Marik showed up and interupted him.

"Well, well, I see you have made it here," he grinned.

"Marik, what are you going to do with us now?" Yami growled.

I couldn't see their faces, I was tired and couldn't keep my eyes open, but I could just imagine the look on my yami's face, as well as Marik's.

"You two will fight me in a match to the finish," Marik sneered. "And I'm not going to give in."

"Neither are we!" Yami shouted.

"You might not, but it looks like little Yugi is out of the fight already, I won't even have to waste my energy on him, the Shadow Realm will finish him off," Marik grinned evilly.

There was a pause as my heart raced. Marik was right. I wouldn't last much longer here. I opened my eyes and looked at Yami. His expression was, well, sad. Like an 'I'm sorry Yugi' looking sad. I had only seen that expression once or twice before and I wasn't sure I liked it.

"What are you thinking Yami?" I asked quietly.

"Yugi, I'm sending you back," he answered softly as well.

"What?!" I demanded.

"You can't stay here, you'll die, so I'm sending you back to your world," Yami spoke softly and calmly, but I noticed a slight quiver in his voice, like one of those you get when you've just lost a loved one.

"But Yami I," I started but then everything started to grow black as I felt the Millennium Puzzle grow warm.

"I may never see you again Yugi, but at least you have your friends and family," Yami whispered. "If I can, I'll return someday."

The last thing I saw as I pried my eyes open one last time to look at Yami was him looking to the sky of the Shadow Realm.

"Magic, I call upon you!" he cried out. "Watch over Yugi just like you did me. Watch over him in our world for all eternity, and watch over him in his for as long as you live, please."

A black shadow, it's eyes blazing red appeared in front of Yami.

"Yes sir," it growled.

And then, everything went black as I slipped into unconciousness.

What had that shadow looked like? It wasn't shapeless, now that he thought about it. It had a shape. Two ears, fur, possibly. The eyes, they were, sort of almond shaped. It looked, sort of like, well, a wolf. Yes, that's it! Magic, the one Yami called on, must be a wolf!

Yugi jumped out of bed and raced out the door.

"Yugi, are you crazy?!" Jamie shouted.

But Yugi said nothing. He reached the bottom of the stairs. His eyes had adjusted to the dim lighting, almost no light at all, actually. But he could see well enough to make his way around and into the kitchen, the one thing closest to the stairs. But he couldn't see anyone, or anything. He could sense it. He could sense another presense.

"Magic, if that is your name, please, come and show yourself to me," Yugi called into the darkness.

There was no reply, just silence. Then, the wolf revealed himself to Yugi.

"So, you are Yugi," the wolf spoke quiet differently to Yugi than he had just a second ago with Jamie.

His voice was full of respect and wisdom.

"Yes, you are Magic, are you not?" Yugi asked.

"Yes, I am," Magic nodded.

Then, Yugi's face clouded over.

"What is wrong?" Magic asked, looking into Yugi's face.

But Yugi said nothing as he raced up to his room, Magic following.

Shadu: Hmmmm, what is wrong with Yugi? Well, not to brag or anything but, I KNOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Hokage: I hope you do.....


	4. The first of the first

Shadu: Ooooooooooh, suspense. So, what is wrong with Yugi? Heheh, you'll find out.

Hokage: Joy.

Shadu: Excuse Hokage, he's having a bad day.

Ish: ComeoneHokage,let'splay,huh?Huh?Huh?Please,please,please!

Hokage: smacks Ish No.

Shadu: Leave him alone Ish.

Ish: Okay, if I must.

Hokage: Yes, you must.

Shadu: Hey, can you tell, I'm just on fire today!

Ish: No you're not.

Hokage: It's a figure of speech.

Ish: What's that?

Hokage: Nevermind...................

Shadu: Here's the disclaimer: We don't own Yu-Gi-Oh! There, on with the story

Magic looked in the direction Yugi had bolted and slowly made his way there. He eased the door open and saw Yugi hudled up on the bed, knees pulled up to his chest.

"What's wrong?" Magic asked.

"You, you were sent by Yami," Yugi said quietly.

Jamie was just outside the door, listening.

"Yes, I was, I won't deny it," Magic nodded.

Yugi didn't say anything.

Magic was silent for a couple of moments, then softly said, "I understand. Hey, can I stay here, I need somewhere to go, and I'm supposed to be here for you anyway."

Yugi nodded. Magic walked over to the side of the bed, stretched out, and fell asleep quickly.

"Will you be okay Yugi?" Jamie asked.

Yugi nodded.

"Okay then, I'll be in the next room over," Jamie smiled.

But Yugi did not return the warm gesture. Instead, he laid down on his pillow.

YAMI, he thought sadly.

The morning came, and with it came the restoration of the power in the home. Magic had gotten up long before Yugi, who was shaken awake by Jamie. Yugi looked at her after she had woken him up.

"Hey, you're going to be late if you don't get up," she told him.

Yugi just got up and dressed and walked silently to school beside Jamie, who was trying to make conversation. This is what is had always dreamed of, walking to school with Yugi Mutou. She hoped that he wouldn't deny her that honor. But Yugi did't say a word as they walked to school, and Jamie eventually stopped trying to get Yugi to talk.

Jamie never really realized how many classes she had with Yugi. Five out of seven, and the only ones that he wasn't in were the electives. Not too surprising though. She watched Yugi. He had a hard time staying focused. And when his friends came over to cheer him up, he took notice, and didn't respond to anything.

At lunch, Jamie was about to sit down at the table with her friends, when something stopped her, and she looked around. Sitting all by himself in one corner, was little depressed Yugi. He had gotten a tray, but wasn't eating anything on it, just picking at it with a fork. Jamie walked over to this table instead and sat down. Yugi didn't even look up.

"Hey Yugi, mind if I sit here?" Jamie asked.

Yugi looked up in shock suddenly, and answered almost inaudiblely, "No."

Jamie studied Yugi, and then joked, "Even though that food looks bad, you probably should eat it. You don't have much to spare."

But Yugi didn't say a thing. He was like a sad statue, almost completely silent.

POOR YUGI, HE MUST REALLY BE DEPRESSED IF HE DOESN'T EVEN JOKE, ESPECAILLLY WITH HIS FRIENDS, Jamie thought.

Jamie ate her food in silence, thinking about what she would do next. She looked at Yugi and an insane, but unsurpressable thought and impluse crossed her mind.

"Yugi," she said.

He looked up.

"With all do respect, there's been something I've wanted to do for a long time," she whispered.

And then swiftly, and without warning to Yugi, she kissed. Not long and hard, and not swift and quick, but somewhere in the middle.

Shadu: There you go Jamie. Hope you're happy. I did that just for you.

Hokage: I'm going to be in trouble.......

Ish: Why?

Hokage: You're the muse for hyper and humor, and fun thoughts, I'm the muse for everything else.

Ish: Oh.

Shadu: Heheheh, anyway, please review, and don't worry Hokage, you're not going to be in trouble. Jamie will probably thank you.

Hokage: Phew....


	5. Does he look better to you?

Shadu: So, let's see, Jamie likes Yugi and last chapter, kissed him in the middle of the cafeteria.

Ish: Thatwascrazy!

Hokage: You're crazy.

Shadu: I agree with Hokage, who will now do the disclaimer.

Hokage: OO I will?!?!?

Shadu: Yes, you will.

Hokage:...................................Wedon'townYu-gi-oh!................................

Shadu: Thank you, and now, the next chapter of Coping With Loss.

When Jamie had finished, Yugi didn't respond; he had gone stiff because of the shock. Like something you would see in a cartoon, he just fell over like a statue. Luckily for Jamie, the bell rang and she quickly moved out of the caferteria, leaving Yugi lying there.

"Hey guys, have you seen Yugi?" Joey asked his friends.

"No, he didn't come out of lunch, I think," Tristan stated.

"Well, if he doesn't hurry, he's gonna be late for fifth hour," Duke piped up.

"DUKE! Where'd you come from???" Joey asked, jumping back at the surprise.

"I see you haven't changed Joey," Duke grinned.

"Well, you guys go ahead, I'll meet you in fifth hour," Joey told his friends, recovering from his scare.

"What about you?" Tea asked.

"Don't worry about me, I'm known for being late to my fifth hour, and no one counts tardies in that class anyway," Joey shrugged.

The others nodded and split off to go to their classes while Joey went back in the cafeteria. He looked around, but didn't see anyone. Then, he thought that he should look by his table. So he did and found Yugi, lying on the floor. He had gone limp, and he had closed his eyes, but nothing else about him had changed.

"Dude, what happened to ya Yug?" Joey picked up the small boy.

Yugi didn't respond. He had simply fainted. Joey didn't know what to do, so he took him to the nurse's office. Then, he set off for his fifth hour class and slipped in just as the bell rang.

Sixth hour was another class Jamie and the gang had together. Jamie sat down and watched for Yugi, but he didn't show up. She caught Joey when he walked in.

"Hey, Joey," she said.

Joey turned around and looked at her.

At first, he didn't recognize her, but then, as if a light bulb had turned on, he smiled and greeted, "Hey. Name's Jamie, right?"

"Yeah, hey, is Yugi okay?" Jamie asked.

Joey looked at her strange.

"Well, I didn't see him come in," Jamie explained.

"Oh, well, I think he's okay," Joey rubbed his chin with his hand. "He was feeling a little under the weather right after lunch, but it's probably because he didn't eat. So, yeah, he's alright."

"Thanks, but where is he?" Jamie asked.

"Boy, you sure do ask a lot of questions," Joey stated, sitting down in the chair behind her. "He should be in the nurse's office."

"Oh, okay, thanks," Jamie nodded.

"Anytime," Joey smiled.

In the middle of class, a weary looking Yugi walked in and handed the teacher a slip of paper. He read it, nodded, told Yugi something, and Yugi took his seat in the back of the room. Luckily for him, this class was nothing but a study hour today, and you can't really make up band, so Yugi got off easy.

But Jamie had mixed feelings about what she had done. She couldn't stop it, not really, but she felt bad too. Was Yugi really that painfully shy? And what is it that is making him feel so down? She looked back at Yugi, who seemed to be a little more cheerful, but nothing like he had been only days ago.

The bell rang and everyone filed out of class, Yugi lagged behind until the end.

ONE MORE HOUR, he thought. ONE MORE HOUR AND I CAN GO HOME.

"Yugi," Jamie called out in the hallway.

Yugi turned around.

"Oh, hi," he said.

"Listen, I'm sorry for what I did at lunch," she told him as they both walked into their seventh hour.

Yugi looked at her like 'What do you mean?' They sat down in chairs near the back.

"You know what I mean," she whispered.

"Oh, that, it's okay," Yugi looked down at his desk.

"Wait, did you just anwser me?" Jamie asked in ashtonishment.

Yugi nodded.

"I don't know why, but what you did made me feel good, even though it shocked my half to death," Yugi told her. "I don't want you to do it again anytime soon, but thanks."

"No problem," Jamie smiled.

"Would you," Yugi looked at her, stammering slightly, "would you, come to my house and help sort cards? I was supposed to do it yesterday, but, well, I'd be really happy if you would."

"Sure, I'd be honored," Jamie smiled.

Yugi's face brightened at this. It seemed that cloud that covered him was starting to lift.

Shadu: There, now, if you want more, you know the deal. Review, that's all. So now, please review.


	6. Hyperness

Shadu: Hey, Ish helped me with this chapter, you'll see why when you read it.

Ish: Itwasfun!Wasn'tit?Wasn'tit?Wasn'tit?I'mfun,aren'tI?Aren'tI?I'mfun,greatfun,loadsoffun.

Hokage: As fun as cancer.

Ish: Yay!

Hokage: --;

Shadu: Oh and I want to make one thing clear. In case you were wondering, this is not Yaoi, this is just strong brotherly love. I'm sure no one was thinking that, but in case you were. I can write that, but I refuse to write Yaoi. This is probably as close to it as I'll get.

Hokage: Yeah, we won't write that.

Shadu: Well, that's it.

Hokage: We dun own Yu-Gi-Oh!

Yugi and Jamie finally made it to the Game Shop. Magic, who had arrived only last night, was sleeping on the couch.

Yugi now got a good look at him. His fur was a blend of all shades of gray, brown and black, with little flecks of blue and purple here and there. He bore the Millennium Symbol on his forehead and was very slender. But his muscles were fine tuned to do exactly what they were told. Yugi was sure that he looked very majestic. But despite this, he looked ragged, and weary. His skin was tightly pulled over his frame, showing each and everyone of his ribs. His tail was torn in many places. He looked old.

"Magic, you feeling okay?" Jamie asked him as the two passed Magic.

"Tired," Magic grumbled.

"Need anything?" Jamie asked.

"Time to sleep, then food," Magic opened one eye.

"Alright," Jamie nodded.

"The cards are right over here," Yugi told Jamie, picking up a box from underneath a desk.

"Okay, mind if I go to get something to drink first?" Jamie asked.

"No," Yugi told her.

Jamie went into the kitchen. She looked in the fridge. Hmmm, so many choices. Milk? Nah, that's being good. Sunny D? Nah, that's being good too. Coke? Eh, getting warmer, but she would look for something else. Sprite? Yuck, no thanks. Mr. Pibb? Yeah, now THAT'S the good stuff.

Reaching into the refridgerator, she pulled out a Mr. Pibb. Popping the top, she took a long, slow gulp. The caffinated drink slipped into her body, energizing her. She took another. More energy poured into her. She did this until she had finished the can, and was overflowing with energy. She walked to where Yugi was sorting cards.

"HeyYugi,let'sdosomething,huh?Huh?Huh?" she spoke too quickly for his ears to comprehend.

"Huh? Slow down Jamie," he told her.

"Why?Whyslowdown?I'mnottalkingfast,I'mnottalkingfast," Jamie told him.

"Um," Yugi looked at her blankly.

"What'sbehindthisdoor?Huh?Huh?" Jamie asked, reaching for a door knob.

"No! You can't, that's Grampa's storage room!" Yugi raced over to her.

"Oh,really,thenwaht'sbehindthisone?" Jamie went over to another.

"That's the bathroom," Yugi sighed.

"Howaboutthisone?Huh?Huh?" Jamie raced to yet another.

"That's the closet," Yugi replied.

"Oh,okay," Jamie grinned evilly and walked over to Magic.

She went and pulled on his skinny, tattered tail. Magic let out a yelp and was up on his feet in an instant. Jamie giggled and started towards Magic, who backed away.

"Jamie, maybe you should leave him alone, he's not feeling well," Yugi cautioned.

But Jamie paid no attention. She chased Magic around and around the shop, Magic all the while keeping his tail, and the rest of his body out of her reach. She eventually cornered him.

"Magic,let'splay.Let'splay!!!" Jamie smiled.

Magic growled menecingly.

"Jamie, let Magic go, he's irritable," Yugi cautioned. "He's libale to bite."

Jamie didn't pay any attention to Yugi and reached out to pet Magic when a sharp pain ran through her hand. The next thing she knew, she was looking at her hand, which was bleeding pretty badly, and Magic had a little blood on his teeth.

"I told you," Yugi sighed as he went to get a first-aid kit.

"Ow,hebitme," Jamie wimpered as she backed away from Magic, who escaped the corner and went back to the couch. "Youmean,meancreature,youmonster!Ithurts,makeitstopYugi."

"Working on it," Yugi returned the the first-aid kit that was stored in the bathroom.

After cleaning the wound, Yugi wrapped it up. Jamie was so happy, that after he had finished, she jumped up and started dancing around the house. Magic just watched in disgust with one eye open for a while, then, decieding he was in no danger, went back to sleep. After two hours, the effects of the caffeine and sugar wore off, and Jamie fell onto the couch, tired, but happy.

"Want to stay for dinner, you might as well, it's almost done," Yugi poked his head into the living room.

"Sure, smells good," Jamie smiled at him.

"I see you're back to normal," Yugi observed.

"As normal as she gets thank goodness," Magic added.

"What's for dinner?" Jamie wondered, ignoring Magic's snide remark.

"Fettichini Alferdo with chicken, one of the things I can cook without assitence," Yugi answered. "I made a lot, because you and I have to eat, and it looks like Magic could use a few pounds."

"Yeah, 5,000 years in the Shadow Realm'll do that to a fella," Magic stated.

They all ate dinner. Yugi was more talkative now that he had been earlier that day. It seemed the cloud was lifting, and he was feeling better.

Shadu: Yeah, hyperness, ness, ness.

Hokage: The repeating of the ending is just a quirk of Shadu's.

Shadu: Yeah, well, you know...Review please?


	7. Hey there Gramps

Shadu: Okay Jamie, I know you could heal yourself, but that's coming. And I'm not good with hyper. I may have made you too hyper, but it was good for a chapter. And the reason you didn't heal yourself at first was because you were hyper and not thinking.

Hokage: wakes up What'd I miss?

Ish: hyper and cheery NOTHING!

Hokage: Too cheery, especailly for the morning.

Shadu: I got up early today, I stayed up 'til like 3:30, I had a guest. And now, I've woken up at 8:30 and I'm writing, how smart is that?  
  
Hokage: Not very.

Ish: I'lldothedisclaimer!

Shadu: Okay.

Ish: Wedon'townYu-Gi-Oh!

Hokage: Good job, now can you....

Jamie went home soon after she had finished eating. Yugi was a little sad to see her go, but he knew she had to. He sighed. And he was feeling better too. The void in his heart left by Yami wasn't hurting as much anymore. Jamie was the reason. He sighed and looked at Magic. Was he really the one that Yami sent? He doesn't seem like much, especailly in the state he is now. I mean, Jamie cornered him with realtive ease. Yugi didn't know why Yami had sent him, of all people, of all things, a run-down, scrawny wolf that is easily cornered by a hyper girl, not to mention ill-tempered. Yugi went to his room.

He sat on his bed and looked at his desk. There sat the Millennium Puzzle. The empty Millennium Puzzle. Yugi didn't know what to do with it. He couldn't bring himself to wear. What purpose would that serve? It would just remind him of Yami. He couldn't hide it somewhere, something inside of him wouldn't let him. He wanted so desperately for Yami to come back. Magic was fine, sort of, and Jamie was helping him along with his friends. But all that still couldn't repair the borken heart he now held. He sighed sadly and laid down on the pillow.

Maybe Yami won't come back. Maybe the last time he saw Yami really was the last time. Yugi rolled over. He had felt so helpless back there with Marik. He wanted to kick himself now. He couldn't help the one person he wanted to help the most, Yami. Yami had saved him, though he didn't want to say it. He knew it, he didn't have to say it. He would've died, but he felt now that anything was better than this.

"Yugi," a voice intrupted his thoughts, though Yugi was kind of happy.

Yugi looked at the door. There stood Grampa.

"Hi," Yugi tried to smile.

"I have three questions," Grampa stated.

"Okay," Yugi said.

"First, are you feeling okay?" Grampa asked.

Yugi shook his head. Physically, he was in perfect health, partly thanks to Jamie, but of course, Yugi didn't know this. But emotionally, he was very ill. The pain just grew the longer Jamie was away from him. And the longer the pain grew, the more depressed he got and the more dpressed he got, the more he turned back to his solitary and shy ways.

"Secondly, did anything happen while I was gone?" Grampa asked

Yugi nodded.

"What was it?" Grampa looked at Yugi curoiusly.

Yugi didn't say a word, but looked at the Millennium Puzzle on his desk. Grampa didn't know the exacts of what he meant, but he got the general jist of it. Something had happened to Yami.

"Thirdly, why is there a wolf on our couch?" Grampa asked Yugi.

Yugi looked at him. Magic. He was the only thing left of Yami.

"Yami sent him," Yugi whispered.

"Oh, well, he has to go," Grampa told Yugi.

Yugi looked at him with fear and terror in his eyes as well as shock and sadness.

"You can't," Yugi pleaded.

"Why not?" Grampa wondered.

"He's the only the of Yami I have left, please don't make him leave," Yugi pleaded, almost in tears.

Grampa thought about it.

"We don't have any more rooms," Grampa shrugged.

"He likes the couch," Yugi told him.

"I can't have him scaring off my customers," Grampa sighed.

"He won't, please Grampa," Yugi looked at his grandfather.

Grampa sighed. He was getting too old to despute with Yugi anymore.

"Alright, he can stay," Grampa gave in.

"Thank you," Yugi smiled slightly.

Meanwhile

Jamie walked home. She looked at the hand that Magic had bitten, and Yugi had bandaged. She unwrapped the bandages. Just as she had thought, it was healed, without a single scar. Yugi was right, Magic had been irritable. Oh well, that doesn't mean he's a bad person, but really, he needed to sleep a little and put on a little weight. I mean, jeez, I thought Yugi was bad.

She walked down the sidewalk thinking about all that had happened that afternoon. Yugi had looked really sad when she had left. She didn't want to leave, and Yugi knew that, but she had to leave, and Yugi knew that too. He seemed like he was doing better until the end. Of all the things her powers could cure and heal, emotional pain she could not. That was Yugi's pain now, she knew it. He wasn't sick in any other way, she had healed him when she first saw him, but now, there was nothing she could do except for stick with him and hope that everything turns out okay.

Shadu: That's the end of that. Time now, 10:14.

Hokage: Nearly two hours.

Shadu: Oh well. REVIEW!


	8. Sick day

Shadu: Hey everyone. Back with another one!

Ish: YYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Hokage: Joy.

Shadu: We dun own nothing.

Hokage: 'Cept Magic.

Shadu: True.

Yugi woke the next morning. He didn't feel well at all. He wanted to stay home today. He wasn't even sure if he could get out of bed. So he just laid there. He felt like he wanted to cry, but he wasn't sure why. Yugi had never felt so sad, and when Grampa came to get him, he didn't move an inch.

"Yugi, come on, you'll be late for school," Grampa urged.

"Do I have to go today Grampa?" Yugi moaned. "I'm not feeling well."

"Well, you've barely been absent," Grampa thought this through. "Alright, you may stay home today, but tomorrow, you had better go to school if you know what's good for you."

Yugi nodded. He didn't really want to miss school. But he couldn't even pull himself out of bed. He just laid there. Magic walked in about mid day. He was looking a little better. He had more weight on him now. Not much more, but there was a noticable difference.

"You not feeling well again?" Magic asked.

Yugi shook his head.

"Does it have anything to do with Yami's absence?" Magic questioned.

Yugi nodded.

"Wanna talk about it?" Magic asked again.

"Not really," Yugi replied.

"Alright, if you don't wanna talk, suit yourself, but just know, I'll be here for you," Magic walked out of the room.

Yugi wasn't sure what to think of Magic. He knew Magic meant well, but Magic wasn't sure how to handle Yugi either. Yugi was pretty sure about that. But why was Magic the way he was? He remembered Yami talked sometimes about how great of a companion Magic was, and how good of a fighter he was. But Magic didn't seem to be any of those. Had Yami been just making that up? He said he remembered Magic as clear as day, but did he really? Magic was a skwrany runt, just like himself. Yugi sat back and sighed. A few hours later, Yugi had fallen asleep. A knock came at the door.

"Yeah?" Yugi mumbled, rubbing his eye sleeply.

"Hey Yugi, it's me," Jamie said, stepping into Yugi's room.

"Oh, hi," Yugi smiled a little.

"Were you feeling bad today?" Jamie asked.

Yugi nodded.

"Well, I have a martial arts class tonight, wanna come?" Jamie asked.

"Uh, okay," Yugi stated unsurely.

"We can do something afterwards," Jamie quickly suggested.

"Okay, sounds good," Yugi's face brightened greatly.

"Can I come?" Magic asked.

Yugi looked at Jamie, who looked back. He realized that Jamie wanted to do this with him, alone. But Magic needed sometime to roam too. He needed to get aquatined with his new suroundings. With a heavy sigh, Jamie shrugged.

"Sure," Yugi told Magic.

The three walked to the building where Jamie's class was being held. Yugi watched in amazement as Jamie practiced with a bamboo sword.

SHE'S GOOD, thought Yugi, I WISH I COULD DO SOMETHING LIKE THAT.

He watched as she spared with another student. She was on the winning side. She was incredible, Yugi corrected himself.

Afterwards, they walked along and just hung out. Magic didn't say much and let the other two talk. A couple times, they even forgot that Magic was there. But they just kept walking until...

"Hey short stuff!" a mean voice called out across the street.

Yugi glanced up. Oh-no! They had wandered into the West Side of town. It was home to more than twenty gangs. And they all LOVED to pick on people, especailly people like Yugi. Yugi recognized the colors on the invaders, for he had experiecned an encounter with them before.

"We don't want any trouble," Jamie piped up.

NO JAMIE, KEEP YOUR MOUTH SHUT! Yugi thought desperately.

"Oh, you might not, but we do," another voice pitched in.

A gang of about twenty or thirty members crept out from the alleyways and stores and slowly started to surround Jamie, Yugi, and Magic.

"What'd we do?" Yugi wondered out loud.

"We fight 'em," Magic snarled.

"Attack!" the leader of the gang yelled.

And in an instant, Yugi and Jamie were under a pile of body. The bodies were weights, tons and tons of weight. They were heavy, and Yugi was having problems catching his breath. Breathing was difficult for him with five people, more than twice his weight, ontop of him.

"Help," Yugi coaked.

"You want help?" the one closest to his ear sneered. "Well, you're going to have to speak louder than that."

"Correction! He spoke loud enough!" Magic's voice flooded through the air.

All the gangsters turned their ugly heads towards Magic. He was up on two legs now, and he was smirked with a hand behind his back.

"What'd you say?" a gangster challenged him.

"You heard me! He's got all the help he needs!" Magic roared back.

He revealed his hand as he threw its firey contents at the gangsters. One after another these balls of fire came until there were no thugs left.

"There, that should teach 'em," Magic snorted.

SO, Yugi thought, THE STORIES ABOUT HIM WERE TRUE!

Shadu: Hate to leave it at a cliff, but....

Hokage: Makes it interesting.

Shadu: Review Please.


	9. Just let me go

Shadu: Getting ready to wrap this one up.

Hokage: Yeah, sorry it took us a while to update.

Ish: STUPIDWRITER'SBLOCK!

Shadu: Calm down Ish. Anyway, we don't own nothin'.

Magic stood proudly infront of Yugi. He had shone his true colors after all. And he seemed to be feeling better too. His color and pep had returned to his body, as if all it needed was a jumpstart.

"Magic, thanks," Yugi stated.

"Yeah, thanks," Jamie added.

"It was nothing, anytime," Magic winked.

They got to the house just as curfue set into effect. And as Yugi laid in his bed that night, his thoughts once again fell on Yami.

Yugi let out a sad sigh.

Why did it always happen this way? He could have the best day of his life, but it would all be ruined that night, right before he went to bed because his mind won't stay off Yami. It wasn't fair.

Tears started to line Yugi's eye in furstration and sorrow.

Why? Why did it have to be this way? Why was he chosen to solve the Millennium Puzzle?" Why was he, a weakling, chosen to bear the pharaoh's spirit? Why did Yami have to leave? Why does it have to end this way?

Yugi knew what had to be done. He knew what he had to do. Writing a note, he left it on his nightstand. Then, he climbed to his window seal, and looked to the ground below.

Everything was dark, yet he could still see the details of the cars that passed by, even at this late hour. He could see the town of Domino in the distance. He could see the Kaiba Corporation Building jetting high above the other buildings into the skyline in the distance. He could see the place that Tea lived. He could make out Tristan's house. He caught a glimpse of Duke's game shop. He could spot the apartment building in the West Side of Domino that Joey lived in. He could see the night sky and all the stars in it. He could see the full moon, how it smiled at him. But it was overshadowed by clouds. Dark forboding clouds that make the world dark. And he could see the ground just below him. Beckoning to him to take the plunge. To jump and end it all. To jump and end his sorrow, end his depression, end his pain.

Yugi took a deep breath and prepared himself to jump.

Shadu: Okay, I know that it was short, but it was a good place to stop.

Hokage: Yeah, if you like cliffes.

Shadu: Which I do.

Ish: Please review.

Hokage: We're poets and didn't know it.


	10. Friends to the end

Shadu: This will be the last chapter.

Hokage: Not sure if that's a good thing.

Shadu: ::shrugs:: Enjoy.

Yugi bent his knees, ready to jump. He wasn't sure what he was waiting for, but something inside him said, just a little longer. Just a bit more. And just when he was ready to do it, a deep, soothing voice stopped him.

"Yugi, what are you doing?" it asked.

Yugi whipped around. His breath caught in his throat.

"Y-yami," he nearly choked on the word.

Yami stood there in the room, transparent and tattered. His clothes were ripped, scraps and cuts blanketed his body, but he was standing here now, infront of Yugi, who was about to end it due to the lack of Yami.

Yugi ran to his yami and clung to his jacket. And he cried. And Yami said nothing, but offered an arm of support around his little light. He understood that he had gone through a lot. But Yami sensed another presense. He turned his head to see Magic sitting in the doorway, smiling. Yami returned the smile.

"It's a pleasure to see you again, my dear old friend," Yami stated.

"No, the pleasure's all mine," Magic bowed his head.

And as Yugi went to sleep, Yami found the note, and he read it.

Jamie 

_I'm sorry to desert you. You've helped me through this, as far as I could take it, and I thank you. I just miss Yami so much that I've lost all hope. But when I was around you, you made me confident. You made me believe that maybe, just maybe, there would be a chance to get Yami back. But when you leave, it goes away, and I can't bear it. Please forgive me. And if, by some crazy fluke I manage to survive, then, I would like to, uh, maybe see a movie or something. You see, when you kissed me in the caferteria that day, it made me realize something._

_Your friend,_

_Yugi Mutou_

_P.S. I love you, now, and forever._

SO, YOU FOUND SOMEONE TO HELP YOU THROUGH HARD TIMES, Yami thought.

"Just like I helped you," Magic stated.

"Who is this Jamie?" Yami asked.

"Let's just say, she's someone that you can't get rid of very easily," Magic stated, looking at the sleeping Yugi. "She's what kept Yugi alive the time that you were gone. And, it gave someone besides family he could love."

Shadu: That's it, that's all, that's the end.

Hokage: For the last time in this story, REVIEW!


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